Prominent Afghan Diplomat Abdul Ghafur Rawan Farhadi dies.
Abdul Ghafur Rawan Farhadi, a renowned Afghan diplomat and prominent figure in the country’s foreign policy, has died at the age of 96 in the United States.
Farhadi served as Afghanistan’s representative to the United Nations for more than a decade, maintaining the country’s diplomatic representation at the international body through several political eras, including the Mujahideen government, the first Taliban regime, and later the Islamic Republic.
Nasir Ahmad Faiq, the acting head of Afghanistan’s mission to the United Nations, expressed condolences on Monday, July 27, to Farhadi’s family and Afghanistan’s diplomatic community following his death. He described Farhadi as one of the country’s most distinguished diplomats.
Tariq Farhadi, the son of Abdul Ghafur Rawan Farhadi, also confirmed that his father passed away in San Francisco, California, due to old age.
In 1993, Abdul Ghafur Rawan Farhadi was appointed by then-President Burhanuddin Rabbani as Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
Following the collapse of the Mujahideen government and the rise of the first Taliban regime, he continued serving as head of Afghanistan’s UN mission. He later retained the position after the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
Farhadi remained Afghanistan’s representative to the United Nations until 2006. With 13 consecutive years in the role, he recorded the longest tenure of any Afghan representative at the UN, serving during one of the most challenging and transformative periods in Afghanistan’s modern history.
Beyond his diplomatic career, Farhadi was also recognized as a prominent Afghan scholar and cultural figure.
Born in Kabul in 1929, he completed his primary and secondary education in Afghanistan before traveling to France for further studies.
In 1952, he graduated in international relations from the Paris Institute of Political Studies and simultaneously conducted research at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Paris-Sorbonne, focusing on ancient languages, including Sanskrit and Avestan, as well as general linguistics.
He earned his doctorate in 1955, with his dissertation examining the works, ideas, and mysticism of Khwaja Abdullah Ansari.
Fluent in Persian, Pashto, French, English, and Arabic, Abdul Ghafur Rawan Farhadi was widely regarded as one of Afghanistan’s most influential diplomats on the international stage throughout decades of political, academic, and cultural service.
His death has drawn reactions from numerous Afghan diplomats, politicians, and cultural figures. Many have described Farhadi as a knowledgeable, moderate, and distinguished diplomat who helped maintain Afghanistan’s continued representation at the United Nations during some of the country’s most turbulent years.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
